1882.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



51 



ONION CULTURE, 



Continued from last Number. 



CULTIVATION. 



As soon as the young plants can be seen the 

 length of the rows, run Comstock's Onion 

 Weeder through them, adjusted so as not to 

 cover them with earth. When the tops have 

 straightened up and the weeds begin to grow 

 after cultivating close to the rows, rake the 

 ground diagonally across the rows with a 

 common hay rake. This will break the crust, 

 check the growth of weeds and give the plants 

 a fine start without injuring at all as might 

 supposed. It is quickly 

 done and answers for the 

 first weeding. Onions re- 

 quire about three hand 

 weedings, but if pains are 

 taken to make the rows 

 straight and uniform, be- 

 fore sowing, the cultivator 

 and weeder may be run so 

 close that comparatively, 

 but few weeds remain to 

 be taken out by hand, and 

 the ground is kept so mel- 

 low and clean by frequent 

 cultivation, that a largely 

 increased yield is obtained. 

 The crop can be gathered 

 with much greater facility 

 in clean ground, and no 

 weeds are left to seed the 

 land the next year. 



Early in J une, when the 

 leaves are four or five inches 

 high, sow broadcast about 

 a barrel of salt to the acre. 

 After the second weeding 

 give a dressing of 50 to 100 

 bushels of wood ashes, or 

 150 pound* German Potash 

 Salts. These may be omit- 

 ted if the land is rich enough 

 without. 



When the tops have fall- 

 en, and the moisture is near- 

 ly dried out, and the roots 

 begin to shrivel, it is time 

 to gather the crop. This 

 is done by raking four rows 

 together with a wooden 

 rake into windrows, where 

 they may remain a week 

 or ten days to cure. They 

 are then stripped by cut- 

 ting off the tops about an 

 inch from the bulb, and 

 spread on a dry day, over 

 the floor of an outbuild- 

 ing, where they have to be 

 turned occasionally t i 1 

 thoroughly cured. 



KEEPING ONIONS. 



VARIETIES. 



Wether sfield Large Bed.— (Fig. 11.) Gen- 

 erally speaking, all Red Onions grown in 

 Wethersfield are comprised under this name, 

 with the exception of Extra Early and Bed 

 Globe. Yet there are many different well 

 defined strains among Wethersfield Onions, 

 varying in shape, color and quality. Some 

 growers have by carefully continued selection, 

 for seed purposes, obtained distinct types, 

 superior to the general crops grown there, and 

 nearly, if not fully, equivalent to permanent 

 varieties. It will thus be seen that Onions 



GROUP OF ONIONS SHOWING THEIR PROPORTIONATE SIZE 



grown from seed raised by different growers, 



To keep Onions through the winter, head although true to name, may differ materially, 

 them up in barrels and stow them snugly The best of these, selections is the Medium 

 together in an outbuilding or barn, where they Early Large Bed, the latter, when true, is 

 can be kept cool and dry, and cover with hay j bright red, of thick shape, very mild, cooks 

 or straw to prevent too hard freezing. Light [ tender, keeps well, is a most excellent crop- 

 freezing does not hurt them if kept frozen till per, and ripens the tops and bulbs altogether, 

 spring, but alternate freezing and thawing Extra Early Bed. — (Pig. 2.) Is cultivated 

 will start them into growth. Too hard freez- only for a first crop, to be gathered and mar- 

 ing kills them, so that when thawed they are keted about the end of July. It is of medium 

 soft and worthless. Onions should never be size, flat, lighter colored than Large Red, and 

 stirred while frozen, but as soon as frost is out j less productive. 



and there is no more danger of their being 

 frozen, spread them thinly and give them air 

 in dry weather. 



Large Bed Globe. — (Pig. 12.) Dark red, near- 

 ly round, of good quality, is a good cropper and 

 keeper and but little later than the preceding. 



Yellow Dutch.— (Fig. G.) The common 

 large, flat, straw colored Onion seen in our 

 markets; it is of mild flavor, moderately 

 productive, and keeps well. 



Yellow Danvers. — (Pig. 4.) Early, very 

 handsome, of brownish straw color, thick, full 

 shape, mild but somewhat tough, which quality 

 makes it keep its shape when cooked; mod- 

 erately productive. 



Yellow Globe Danvers. — (Pig. 8.) Differs 

 from the preceding only in shape, which is 

 fuller and rounder; yields well. 



White Portugal.— (Fig. 1.) White, flat, 

 medium size, very mild. 

 A fair cropper but poor 

 eper. 



White Globe.— (Fig. 9.) 

 Very full, round and hand- 

 some; yields abundantly, 

 of very mild and pleasant 

 flavor; cooks tender, and 

 would be one of the most 

 desirable varieties if it kept 

 better. Its skin is so ten- 

 der and it absorbs moist- 

 ure so readily, that often 

 the bulbs become mouldy 

 3fore fully ripe. They 

 ive to be gathered early, 

 se the sun turns them 

 greenish before housed. In 

 lg them, they have to 

 be spread thinly on a floor 

 and turned often. 



Wm. G. Comstock. 



The other varieties rep- 

 resented in our illustration 



Early Cracker. — ( Fig. 

 3.) The earliest yellow va- 

 riety, of special value where 

 he seasons are. short. 



Giant Tripoli, (Pig. 5,) 

 White Naples, (Fig 7,) 

 Giant Bocea, (Pig. 10,) 

 The culture of these and 

 other Italian Onions, now 

 lecoming of considerable 

 importance for cultivation 

 in our Southern States, was 

 described in our October 

 number of last year. 



[It is hardly 'to be sup- 

 1 that any of our 

 leaders will have been 

 tempted to apply Super- 

 hosphate of Lime or bone 

 ust at the rate of one 

 lousand bushels per acre, 

 as the types had it in the 

 first part of this article in 

 our March number, yet it 

 may not be amiss to state that it should have 

 been one thousand pounds. — Ed.] 



American versus English Potatoes. — Notwith- 

 standing the large, quantities of Potatoes import- 

 ed into the United States during the past winter, 

 the demand for American Potatoes in England is 

 steadily increasing, and it is stated that the, 

 quality of our poorer kinds becomes improved 

 even on English soil. Unfortunately we cannot 

 retaliate in this tuberous matter. Prince Albert 

 was the only English variety that ever proved 

 of any value here, while the. many celebrated 

 foreign prize Potatoes which we have grown, 

 deteriorated rapidly on our soil. 



